Terminology F - G
From Voices for Ohio's Children
FAI (Family Assets Initiative)
Dedicated to building the capacity of state-based child-advocacy organizations to analyze the needs of children and low-income and working families in order to advance policies to support those children and their families. Advocates are currently assisted in ten states.
Useful Website: http://www.bmsg.org/proj-children-assets.php
Family-Centered
Reflecting the wishes and priorities of the family.
Family Engagement
Forming a trusting relationship with a family to build on its strengths and help identify needed services and supports and connect the family to those needed services and supports.
Family Foster Home
A family-like residence for five or fewer foster children supervised by an adult(s), in a single house located in a residential neighborhood. Residents of the home include their own children. Supervision of children on an Emergency or Respite Basis may be included in the category.
Family Support
Refers to services provided to help families keep a member with a disability at home. The home is typically the best environment to grow up in, no matter what a child’s disability, so family support is often defined as “whatever it takes” to prevent a person from being placed outside the natural home.
FAS (Fetal Alcohol Syndrome)
The most commonly recognized of the Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) which may cause physical, mental, behavioral and/or learning disabilities that can and often do have lifelong implications.
FASD (Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder)
The umbrella term used to describe the range of effects that can occur in an individual whose mother drank alcohol during pregnancy. These effects may include physical, mental, behavioral, and/or learning disabilities with possible lifelong implications. The term FASD is not intended for use as a clinical diagnosis.
Useful Website: http://www.fascenter.samhsa.gov/index.cfm
FAST (Families and Schools Together Program)
This program is designed to build positive protective factors (e.g. initiative, self-control, attachment) for children ages 4-12 and empower families to be the primary source of prevention for their children. Team members of the FAST program, including a team of parents, trained professionals and school personnel conduct the program by structuring activities that promote school success and family functioning, and prevent substance abuse, mental health problems, and juvenile delinquency.
Useful Website: http://www.wcer.wisc.edu/fast/
FCFC (Family and Children First Council)
Partnership of government agencies and community organizations committed to improving the well-being of children and families.
Useful Website: http://www.ohiofcf.org/main.asp
FCFH/2-1-1 (First Call For Help)
A 24-hour-a-day, seven-days-per-week confidential information and referral service based at United Way of Greater Cleveland where trained information specialists respond to questions regarding health and human services. In 2003 FCFH became the County’s Call Center for 211 health and human services information and referral.
FERPA (The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act)
A Federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. The law applies to all schools that receive funds under an applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education. FERPA gives parents certain rights with respect to their children's education records. These rights transfer to the student when he or she reaches the age of 18 or attends a school beyond the high school level. Students to whom the rights have transferred are "eligible students."
Useful Website: http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/index.html.
FESSP (Family Economic Self-Sufficiency Project)
Provides resources and technical assistance to community-based advocates and states on issues related to human resource investment policies. This initiative focuses on providing information and statistics to strengthen advocacy for policy change around six strategies proven to improve the chances of self-sufficiency for low-income families: the Self-Sufficiency Standard, higher wage employment targeting, nontraditional female employment, micro-enterprise training and development, and individual Development Accounts.
Useful Website: http://www.finebynine.org/pdf/SECPTAN_Multisite_10_04.pdf
FFCMH (Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health)
The Federation supports a nation wide network of family-run organizations that help to change how the system handles children with mental health needs and their families. Publications and fact books can be found on their website.
Useful Website: http://www.ffcmh.org
FFT (Functional Family Therapy)
A family intervention program for dysfunctional youth. It services a wide range of at-risk youth, aged 10-18, and their families, including youth with problems such as conduct disorder, violent acting-out, and substance abuse. FFT can be provided in a variety of ways, including schools, child welfare, probation, parole/aftercare, and mental health. It can be used as an alternative to incarceration or out-of-home placement.
Useful Website: http://www.fftinc.com/
Fifty Plus
A Untied Way “giving” category denoting individuals who contribute $50,000 or more to a single campaign.
FIN (Family Information Network)
A statewide parent network designed to keep family perspectives at the forefront of Ohio’s Help Me Grow (HMG) system by offering support through information and education to families of young children and the professionals who serve them.
Useful Website: http://www.familychild.org/fin/FIN.htm
First Steps
First Steps promotes the school readiness of infants and toddlers by strengthening the knowledge and practices of caregivers. We focus on the importance of responsive relationships, optimal environments and intentional experiences through coaching and care giving supports.
Useful Website: http://www.occrra.org/firststeps.htm
Flagship
A campaign account raising at least $25,000 in the United Way annual fund-raising drive.
FMLA (Family and Medical Leave Act)
Synopsis of Law
Covered employers must grant an eligible employee up to a total of 12 workweeks of unpaid leave during any 12-month period for one or more of the following reasons:
- for the birth and care of the newborn child of the employee;
- for placement with the employee of a son or daughter for adoption or foster care;
- to care for an immediate family member (spouse, child, or parent) with a serious health condition; or
- to take medical leave when the employee is unable to work because of a serious health condition.
Useful Websites:
http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/fmla/
http://www.employer-employee.com/fmla.html
Formal Services
Services which are available through a Medicaid/Children and Family Services contract or that require a formal certification or approval process and are often clinical services. Typically these services require payments to providers. Community supports would not be considered formal services.
Foster Parent
An adult guardian to whom one or more children have been legally entrusted. Unlike godparents, a foster parent is rarely chosen by a child's biological parents. Foster parents are instead usually assigned by the government to look after children when cases of abuse or neglect are found to exist in the home of the biological parents.
FPL (Federal Poverty Level)
A defined income level that is used for eligibility determination for many public programs, including Medicaid and CHIP. FPL is referenced in comparison to 100% FPL ($16,600 annually for a family of three in 2006).
FPP (Family Preservation Program)
A continuum of programs available within the local departments of social services. These programs are specifically identified for families in crisis whose children are at risk of out-of-home placement. Family preservation actively seeks to obtain or directly provide the critical services needed to enable the family to remain together in a safe and stable environment.
Useful Website: http://www.dhr.state.md.us/family/index.htm
Frisk
A pat-down on the top of clothing by a police officer for the purpose of feeling for weapons.
FTG (Free to Grow)
A four-year demonstration program testing innovative, community-based approaches to preventing substance abuse and child abuse. Community partners are brought together to support their local programs and approaches to strengthening the families and children in their communities. Participating Head Start programs are required to develop partnerships with local law enforcement agencies and schools and human service programs. The program includes research-based family and community interventions, such as enhanced family assessment and intensive case management.
Useful Website: http://www.finebynine.org/pdf/SECPTAN_Multisite_10_04.pdf
Functional Assessment
A comprehensive review of a person’s status and abilities in all areas, including health, daily living,
GAF (Global Assessment of Functioning Scale)
This scale is used to describe the general level of functioning of children using a 1-100 scale. Hypothetical situations are depicted, and the evaluator must decide how well the child matches the behaviors depicted in the situation. All situations are rated on a health-illness scale, with high scores indicating healthy levels of functioning and low scores indicating ill levels of functioning. GAF scores are based on levels of functioning at home, school, with peers, and at activities. Aspects of psychological, social, and occupational functioning are considered while functioning that is impaired due to physical or environmental limitations is disregarded as a constitution of ill-functioning. One the level of functioning is determined. Recommendations may be made for further evaluation and/or treatment of the child.
Useful Website: http://www.southalabama.edu/nursing/psynp/cgas.pdf
GAL (Guardian ad Litem)
Literally, “guardian for the suit.” It is an attorney appointed by a judge to assist the Court in determining the circumstances of the matter. They provide independent advice to the Court to bring balance to the decision-making process and may conduct interviews and investigations, make reports to the court and participate in court hearings or mediation sessions. Juvenile and domestic relations district court shall appoint a guardian ad litem in any case involving:
- a child who is alleged to be abused or neglected,
- a child who is the subject of an entrustment agreement,
- a petition seeking termination of parental rights,
- a petition by a parent seeking relief of the care and custody of his/her child, and
- a petition to approve consent to the placement of a child for adoption directly with the adoptive parents of the birth parent’s choice.
Useful Website: http://www.courts.state.va.us/gal/home.html
Galileo (evaluation tool—used a lot with Head Start)
A statistically valid assessment tool using various scales to evaluate children in 63 knowledge areas and all 27 Domain Elements of the Child Outcomes Framework such as language development, literacy, math, science, and creative arts. Progression can be evaluated over time by using developmental sequences.
GAO (Government Accountability Office)
This United States office's name changed from the General Accounting Office to the Government Accountability Office. Congress asks GAO to study the programs and expenditures of the federal government. GAO, commonly called the investigative arm of Congress or the congressional watchdog, is independent and nonpartisan. It studies how the federal government spends taxpayer dollars. GAO advises Congress and the heads of executive agencies such as Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Department of Defense (DOD), and Health and Human Services (HHS) about ways to make government more effective and responsive. GAO evaluates federal programs, audits federal expenditures, and issues legal opinions. When GAO reports its findings to Congress, it recommends actions. Its work leads to laws and acts that improve government operations, and save billions of dollars. Useful Website: http://www.gao.gov/
GenNext (GeneratioNEXT)
This new fund raising initiative, focused especially on recruiting young professionals between the ages of 25 – 35 to the ranks of Leadership Circle (donors of $1,000 and higher), provides the opportunity for individuals in this demographic to network and to become more engaged as United Way volunteers and donors.
Girls Justice Initiative
The Girls Justice Initiative aims to reduce the number of girls entering the justice system and ensure just treatment for those in the system through identifying areas for reform, developing policy recommendations and promoting gender responsive practices and policies. Their website provides links to related publications and programs.
Useful Website: http://www.girlsjusticeinitiative.org
Group Home
A home for persons with disabilities that generally has 16 or fewer residents.
